Grease-dispensing device



July 23, 1929. 1.; GOODMAN GREASE DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Feb 6, 1928 INVEN TOR Lou/s Gaodmarr M I NM, fmm

Patented July 23, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS GOODMAN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

GREASE-DISPENSING DEvIeE.

Application filed February 6, 1928. Serial No. 252,226.

cheap to manufacture but which will be pro vided with reliable means forfurnishing grease under low pressure to a high pressure booster means.

It is a further object of this in vention to devise a grease dispensingdevice of the type utilizing a spring for forcing a follower down uponthe charge of grease, which will be provided with releasable means forretaining the spring in inactive compressed condition while at the sametime permitting free movement gf the follower for refilling the greasecham- It is a further object of this invention to devise a high pressuregrease dispensing device having means for relieving the high pressure inthe discharge pipe before this pipe is removed from the bearing or otherdevice being supplied with grease.

It is a further object of this invention to devise a high pressure pumpfor discharging grease or other lubricants, having means for readilyadjusting the packing of the pump plunger. 1

Further objects of this invention will appear from the followingdescription in which I have set forth the preferred embodiment of myinvention. It is to be understood that the appended claims are to beaccorded a range of equivalents consistent with the state of the priorart.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a transverse cross sectional 'view illustrating adeviceincorporating the various features of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross sectional view of the grease chamberremoved from the high pressure pump, illustrating .the manner in whichthe invention. is utilized for aiding re 7 filling of the greasechamber.

In'the drawingI have illustrated one spe' cific embodiment of my devicein ordento explain the principles of my invention. To

form a chamber for holding a charge of grease, I prefer to utilize ashell 10 which is preferably cylindrical in shape. To one end of thisshell there is attached a booster ll, 01' in other words a high pressurepump for receiving grease from the grease ch amber and discharging it athigh pressure. Extending into the other end of the shell, there is anactuator rod 12 to the inner end of which is secured a suitable follower13. For a reason which will presently be apparent, I propose to form thefollower 13 out of two oppositely faced cup Washers 14. A handle 16 ispreferably secured to the outer end of actuator rod 12, in the eventthis rod is to be manually operated, as is usually the case. The end ofthe shell thru which rod l2projects, is preferably cbvered by a suitableremovable closure 17.

Disposed within the shell between the closure 17 and the follower 13,there is a compression spring 18 which is intended to per form thenormal function of pressing the follower 13 down upon a charge of grease19. To withdraw the follower 13 into the shell by pulling upon thehandle 16 it is therefore normally necessary to compress the spring 18.Generally in filling a grease dispensing device of this kind, it iscustomary for the operator to disconnect the shell 10 from the booster11, and thento insert the open end of. the shell in a barrel or othercontainer of grease, at which time the actuator rod 12 is pulledoutwardly to suck a charge of grease into the shell. However since thespring offers considerable resistance to movement of the follower, it isapparent that the operator cannot readily feel whether or not grease isbeing drawn into the shell, with result that in some instancesconsiderable time is lost in properly filling the dispensing device, orthe shell may be attached to the booster 11 withp out having beenproperly filled. It is also inconvenient to manually hold the followerin retracted position against the compression of the spring while theshell is being attached 1 to the booster. It has previously been proposed to remedy this latter difficulty by pro viding means interlockingthe actuator rod with the shell when the follower is in retractedposition, this means being releasable so that the spring may normallypress the follower down upon the grease after the shell is attached tothe booster. Dispensing devices utilizing this construction are stillsubject to the difficulty of being unable to properly feel the greasewhen performing a refilling opera tion.

a In my invention I provide releasable means for retaining the spring 18in inactive compressed condition, but this means permits freereciprocating movements ofthe actuator rod and follower 13 in order toassist the operator in properly refilling the shell. Thus referringagain to the drawing, I have shown a sleeve or other suitable mem ber 21slidably disposed upon the inner portion of actuatorrod 12. Sleeve 21 iscooperably associated with that end of compression spring 18 which isadapted to press upon the follower 13. For example to obtain this resultI have shown the compression spring 18 as being seated-upon a suitablecup'shaped member 22, which in turn is retained u on the sleeve 21 as bymeans of a collar 23. ne end of sleeve 21 is provided with asuitableshoulder 24 which is adapted to automatically engage and be retained b aslidable latch 26. Latch 26 is prefera ly slidably mounted Within theclosure tap 17 and has secured thereto a laterally projectmg rod 27 bymeans of which latch 26 may be manually retracted by an operator. Latch26 is prefnormally urged toward engaging position as by means of acompression spring 28. When the follower 13 .has been practically fullyretracted within the shell, shoulder 24 automatically engages with latch26 and thereafter retains spring 18 in compressed inaetive condltion.With latch 26 in this engaged condition, theoperator is free toreciprocate ro d 12 and follower 13 to perform the desired refillingoperation. After the shell has been properly filled and it has beenagain attached to booster 11, latch 26 may be manually retracted tocause its disengagement from shoulder 24, thus again permitting spring18 to press down upon follower 13. k I

The booster 11 is of more or less conventional construction except withrespect to certain features to be polnted out below. It

preferably consists of a body 30 having a threaded connection 31 withthe shell 10. Body 30 is formed with an inner cylinder bore 32 withinwhich is reciprocally-disposed the plunger 33. Reciprocation of plunger33 is accomplished by some suitable actuating mechanism, as for examplethe manual lever 34 connected with the plunger 33 thru suitable motionapplying linkage mechanism 36. Thehigh pressure end of plunger 33 ispreferably packed against leakage, and for this purpose I have shown apacking washer 37 of leather, rubber, or some other material which maybe expanded into fluid tight relationship with the cylinder walls. As acon-' venient means for retaining this washer upon the plunger and foreffecting expansion of the packing washer upon the cylinder walls,

I have. shown a screw 38 threaded into the I ends of the plunger andhaving a tapered or conical head 39. Since I construct the check valveand fittings for the booster so that they may be readily removed fromthe discharge end of cylinder bore 32,-it is a simple matter to efiectadjustment of the packing 37 by inserting a screw driver to tighten thescrew 38.

Cylinder bore 32 is in communication with the interior of shell 10 atthe top of its stroke,

tion of bearings for automobiles or other:

motor vehicles, hose 42 is generally provided with a suitable connectorwhich is detachably securetl to a fitting, the fitting being permanentlysecured to the bearing to be lubricated. Assuming that the hose isattached to a fitting and that a certain charge of grease has passedthru the hose by operation of the booster 11, if an ordinary type ofcheck valve is employed near the discharge of cylinder bore 32, then thepressure within pipe 42 will not be relieved until the connector isdisengaged fromthe bearing fitting. The presence of such a high pressuremakes removal of the connector difficult and also causes the dis.-charge of a certain amount of excess grease the instant the connector-isremoved.

As one feature of my invention, I propose to provide means for relievingthis pressure after the operator stops operating the booster,

and before the hose 42 is disconnected from the bearing fitting. Thespecific means which I have disclosed forthis result consists of anothercylinder bore 44 which is preferably in alinement with cylinder bore 33so as to form in effect a counter bore. \Vithimthe bore 44, there isa'member 46 in the form of a opens ball check 48 and permits-thegreaseto discharge thruthe pipe 42. Upon the up stroke of plunger 33sulficient vacuum is created to suck the grease thru the port 41 fromthe shell 10. lVhen suflicient grease has been injected into the bearingbeing lubricated, considerable pressure will be present within pipe 42,and this pressure immediately upon relieving the force applied toplunger 33, will force'member 46 and the check valve inwardly to thelimit of its movements. This movement of member 46 is sufiicicnt tosubstantially relieve pressure within pipe 42, so that when this pipe isremoved from the fitting being lubricated, the grease pressure will beinsufficient to cause theescape of superfluous grease. Furthermore theabsence of pressure within pipe 42 makes it easy for the operator toremove the connector from the beari'n g fitting.

To briefly review the operation of the device as a whole, to refill thedevice, the operator unscrews the shell 10 from the booster 11, and thendraws handle 16 outwardly until latch 26 engages and retains the spring18 in inactive compressed condition. Handle 16 is then manually movedforwardly to carry the follower 13 to substantially the open end ofshell 10, after which the shell is inserted in a quantity of grease.Retraeting the follower by again pulling outwardly upon handle 16,causes the semi-fluid grease to be sucked into the chamber 10. Thevacuum necessary for sucking the grease into the shell may be readilyfelt by the operator, so that the operator is assured that the shell isbeing properly filled. After theshell has been filled and the follower13Ais still in retracted position, the shell 10 is again screwed uponthe booster 11, and then latch 26 is replunger to eject the desiredquantity of grease under high pressure. The packing for the plunger 33may be readily adjusted merely by removing the nipple 43'and the member46.

I claim: v

1. A grease dispensing device comprising a grease chamber, a followerdisposed in said chamber, spring means for pressing said follower upongrease in said chamber, and releasable means for rendering said springineffective without preventing free reciprocating movement of saidfollower 2. A grease dispensing device comprising a grease chamber, anactuating rod extending into one end of said chamber, a follower securedto the inner end of said rod, a compression spring disposed within thechamber between said follower and said end of the chamnormally forcesaid rod and follower toward said end of the shell for discharginggrease, latch mechanism comprising a pair of engageable members, one ofsaid members being mounted on said shell, and the other of said membersbeing secured to one end of said spring, said mechanism serving as meansfor releasably. retaining said spring" in ineifective compressedcondition to permit force reciprocation of said rod and follower.

' 4. A grease dispensing device comprising a shell adapted to hold acharge of grease, a discharge passage in one end of said shell, pressureboosting means associated with said discharge outlet, a rod extendinginto the other end of the shell, a follower'secu'red to the inner end ofsaid rod, a compression spring adapted to normally force said rod andfollower toward said end of the rod. for discharging grease, latchmechanism comprising a pair of engageable members,.one of said membersbeing mounted on said shell, and the other of said members being securedto one end of said spring, said mechanism serving as means forreleasably retaining said spring in ineffective compressed condition topermit force reciprocation of said rod and follower.

5. In a high pressure grease dispensing device, a high pressure greasepump, a discharge pipe associated with the pump, said pipe be ingadapted for detachable connection to a device to be lubricated, andmeans for controlling fiow of grease between said pump and pipecomprising a cylinder having its ends communicating respectivelywithsaid pump and pipe, a plunger disposed in said cylinder and movablea limited amount, a passage thru said plunger, and a pressure op-.erated check controlling said passage whereby when grease is dischargedfrom the pump said member is moved to its limit in one direction afterwhich said check is opened by pressure to permit grease to discharge inthe pipe, and when the pump is inactive said member is moved to itslimit in the opposite controlling flow of grease thru said passage.

comprising a cylinder having its ends communicating respectively withsaid pumping means and said discharge passage, a plunger disposedin thecylinder and movable a limited amount, a passage thru said plunger, anda pressure operated check controlling said passage whereby when greaseis discharged from the pumping means'said member is moved to its limitinone direction after which said check is opened by pressure to permitgrease to discharge, and when the pump is inactive said member is movedto its limit in the opposite direction to relieve pressure in the pipe.

, 7. In a, high pressure grease dispensing de-' vice, a high pressuregrease pump, a discharge pipe associated with the pump, said pipe beingadapted for detachable connection to a device to be lubricated, checkvalve for controlling back flow of grease into the pump, and a movablemember carrying said valve, said member being bodily movable relative tosaid pipe-for relieving pressure in said pipe when the pump is inactive.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

LOUIS GOODMAN.

